Pobal Chill Chomáin
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Pobal Chill Chomáin (PCC,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
: ''People of Kilcommon'') is a pressure group based in the parish of
Kilcommon Kilcommon ( ga, Cill Chomáin) is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants. Habitatio ...
in County Mayo, Ireland. It split from the larger
Shell to Sea Shell to Sea ( ga, Shell chun Sáile) is an Irish organisation based in the parish of Kilcommon in Erris, County Mayo. It opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas Gas pipeline, pipeline through the parish, as well as the ongoing const ...
(in existence since 2001 as a campaign with no name; the name Shell to Sea being adopted in January 2005) campaign in April 2008. Vincent McGrath, one of the
Rossport Five The Rossport Five ( ga, Cúigear Ros Dumhach) are Willie Corduff, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Micheál Ó Seighin and James Brendan Philbin, from Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. In 2005, they were jailed for civil contem ...
, is its chairman. After its members campaigned for many years against
Shell Ireland Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
and the
Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...
's actions during the Corrib gas controversy, PCC proposed that the refinery site be moved to Glinsk, a large uninhabited area a few miles to the east of the intended pipeline route and refinery. The proposal was publicly backed by Labour Party president
Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
,
Bishop of Killala The Bishop of Killala () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Killala in County Mayo, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bis ...
Dr. John Fleming, and local
Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil à ...
Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
Michael Ring Michael Ring (born 24 December 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency since 1997, and previously from 1994 to 1997 for the Mayo West constituency. He served as Minister for Rural and ...
but rejected by Shell and the government. PCC submitted an application to the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
seeking an injunction suspending State consents for the Mayo gas project. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) deemed a PCC complaint about the three oil companies involved admissible (for breaching their guidelines for multinationals), and offered to mediate between the two sides. After the failure of a forum with a limited remit, Shell and the government agreed to talks without preconditions in March 2009. PCC members have reported being under surveillance by the Garda Síochána. In March 2009, PCC and S2S members removed a net erected by Shell sub-contractors Belcross from
Glengad Glengad () is a Gaeltacht village in the parish of Kilcommon in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is also known as Dooncarton (), a name which comes from an Iron Age tribal chieftain called Ciortan, a character who appears in the Ulster Cycle l ...
beach. The net was intended to prevent sand martins nesting in the dunes by the beach. On 23 April 2009,
Willie Corduff Willie Corduff (born 1953) is an Irish people, Irish environmental activist from the farming community of Rossport, Kilcommon, Erris. Corduff's parents first arrived in Rossport in 1947, and reclaimed a farm by hand out of bogland. He became a ...
, a PCC member, was hospitalised in the early hours of the morning after an alleged assault by security staff during a protest at Shell works at
Glengad Glengad () is a Gaeltacht village in the parish of Kilcommon in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is also known as Dooncarton (), a name which comes from an Iron Age tribal chieftain called Ciortan, a character who appears in the Ulster Cycle l ...
. In June 2009, PCC members Vincent McGrath with Willie and Mary Corduff had a meeting with the Norwegian ambassador to discuss local concerns about the project. In an effort to resolve issues, the OECD hosted talks between Pobal Chill Chomáin and Shell EP Ireland, mainly centred on a complaint by Pobal Chill Chomáin that the project violates OECD guidelines for multinational companies. This found that Shell had shown a willingness to address health and safety concerns but that dialogue with local stakeholders during the early stages of the project failed to meet the ‘spirit’ of OECD guidelines. Pobal Chill Chomáin were disappointed with the outcome and believe that OECD representatives should have visited the area and contended that an investigation on the ground would have provided an opportunity "to value the statements on stakeholder consultation made and to assess the reliability of Peter Cassells’s findings regarding the views of the community in relation to the project". In the aftermath of the June 2012 magnitude 4 earthquake off the Mayo coast, PCC called on the
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications ( ga, An Roinn Comhshaoil, Aeráide agus Cumarsáide) is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors and regula ...
to conduct an immediate independent safety evaluation of the
Corrib gas project The Corrib gas project ( ga, Tionscanamh Ghás Aiceanta na Coiribe) is a developed natural gas deposit located in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately off the northwest coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The project includes a natural gas pipeline and ...
infrastructure.


References


External links


Final Statement of the Irish and Netherlands National Contact Points (NCPs) concerning the Corrib Gas project
30 July 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pobal Chill Chomain Corrib gas controversy Erris Politics of County Mayo